The Life of One
by NovaNerd
Summary: Yukari struggles to live because of her hanyou blood, she comes upon a Taijiya village. They feel she is no threat and takes her in. After a few years she is trained as a taijiya and becomes friends with a girl named Sango and her brother. Thus it starts.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters. I do, however, own any of the characters I have created.**

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The Life of One

An Original FanFiction

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Prologue

"GET HER!!!!" the village men yelled.

The dark figure of a young girl fled through the forest. Tears fell through her eyes as her wounds began to fill her body with pain.

"GET THAT MONSTER!! GET THAT HALF-DEMON!" she heard the village men yell again. The men held weapons in their palms such as bows and arrows, swords, and spears. Their intentions were clear: they wanted to kill her.

The girl… No. The half-demon girl, about eight-years old ran as fast as she could, but only to trip over an exposed root of a tree. The hanyou girl screamed as the village men caught up to her and pointed their weapons at her. They had already injured her leg with an arrow and they had slashed her back with a sword, but they wanted more.

"Please! NO! I didn't do anything!" the girl yelled.

"Yes you did!" one of the men yelled. "You were born into this world and contaminated our village! You defiled humans with your demon blood. Your freak father, mother, and brother and sister will pay the price also, once we're done with you, filth."

"AHHH!!!" the girl screamed and closed her eyes hut. The girl felt a searing pain go through her chest.

The last thing the young girl heard was a man's voice yelling her name. "YUKARI!" Then everything went blank.

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The girl blinked her eyes and looked around. She was in a meadow, but everything was destroyed. She actually could barely make it out as a meadow.

She noticed a man lying on the grass in front of her. The hanyou's body ached with pain, and couldn't get up, so she decided to crawl over to the figure.

Her hands landed on something wet. She looked at her palm and saw a shining crimson liquid. _'Blood,'_ she thought. The young girl, named Yukari, looked at the figure's blood splattered face.

"Father!" Yukari realized in horror. The young girl took her father's hand as tears filled her eyes.

"Yu… kari. Don't cry. I'll always be… with you. Now, go find… your siblings and mother," said the half-demon's father. The grip on his hand tightened.

"No father! I will not!," the girl sniffled out. The tears in her eyes were producing more and more rapidly. " I won't… I WON'T LEAVE YOU!"

The man lifted up his hand and removed Yukari's grip. He took hold of her cheek and wiped away the wet liquid running down her face.

"Yukari…" he said with his last breath. His hand fell from her cheek and landed on the ground. His purple irises were covered with his eyelids. His body became limp.

"FATHER!!!" Yukari yelled into the sky.

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Hey guys! This is my actual first fanfic. The other one is just a recap of a chapter. Please R&R (read & review)!!!!! I will take any critique with respect unless one pisses me off. This is really just a prologue but if I get any reviews, I want to see if this prologue will help people get interested in the real chapters. Also very short prologue. XD Again, PLEASE R&R! Thanks!

~Novako


	2. Chapter 1: I Am a Demon Slayer

Thank you for my first two reviewers, moonlitinuyasha1985 & my friend (who reviewed as a guest) Ashley! WOOH! XD

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. I do own the characters I have made and uh…. this story. **

The Life of One

Chapter 1: A Village of Demon Slayers

"Mother! Where are you?" a little girl cried out. Her clothes were torn on the sides, and her body was almost like it was entirely dipped in a vat of blood. The injuries she had acquired were already healed, so the blood she was covered in was from others. She wiggled her nose to see if she could sniff out who she was looking for, using her half-demon powers, but she failed. The scent of blood on her body was too strong.

The little girl, about eight years of age, walked through the forest to find the cave her mother and the two of her siblings. She and her siblings were all triplets, but they didn't really look all that alike for some reason. This could've been like that because of their father, who was a powerful full demon, had numerous powers that could change his appearance.

As she walked, she reminisced on what she had just experienced. Her father had died right in front of her eyes. The little hanyou had a vague memory of how he had taken all the wounds he had, but she couldn't quite make it out.

"Yukari," a childlike voice said out of the bushes. "We're over here."

The voice startled her slightly, for the little girl Yukari was too deep in thought. Yukari looked around and saw her sister emerge from the bushes to her right. Her hair was long and tied into a high ponytail, but her face and clothes were soiled with mud and dirt. She was taller for an eight-year-old, but her face seemed to have the right appearance of one. Yukari, on the other hand, was small for her age.

"Nee-sama…" the little hanyou said.

"Yukari… Stop calling me Nee-sama! We're part of a set of triplets!" said the other hanyou.

"I know, but you still are the oldest," Yukari reacted.

"Yukari…" the older triplet said. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of blood all over her sister. Her eyes widened at the scent that came from Yukari's hands. "Uh… Yukari. Why is father's blood on your hands? Where is father?"

The little hanyou in front of her lowered her head so her bangs would cover her eyes. She recalled the moment her father had passed, that had only happened hours ago. Yukari left his body there and did as he said.

'_Yu… kari. Don't cry. I'll always be… with you. Now, go find… your siblings and mother,'_ were one of the few words her father said last. They replayed over and over in her head.

After a few minutes of silence, Yukari finally answered. "Father… He's dead."

The older hanyou triplet's eyes filled with tears, and she began to weep silently. Yukari didn't however. She was following her father's wishes.

'_Don't cry,'_ echoed into the little mind of hanyou.

'_Don't worry father. I won't cry anymore. For your sake.'_ Yukari promised in her head.

"How… How did it happen?" asked the sibling.

"I…" Yukari began, trying to suppress the tears. "I don't know. I was being attacked by the villagers and…" she couldn't continue. If she did, then she would break the promise that she just made. She would cry.

"It's okay. I can see that it's probably too… painful to talk about. Come on… we have to get the news to mother and Yashiro," said the older triplet.

"Okay, Nee-sama," the hanyou said obediently.

"Here we go again. Geez… Can't you just call me Shizuka? My name?" said the sibling Shizuka.

"No." answered Yukari immediately.

The two of the three triplets walked a few yards until they came to a cave. In the cave was their mother and brother Yashiro.

"Imouto!"

"Aniki!"

"Yukari!"

"Mother!"

The human and the other half-demon ran up to the two. The mother hugged the little eight-year-old hanyou as Yashiro patted her on the back.

"What happened to you? Why are you covered in so much blood?" the mother interrogated.

"Um…" was all Yukari could let out.

"Where's Tokiya? Where's your father?"

"Satsuko-sama… Mother… Father is…" Shizuka began to say. _'How can I say this to mother?' _asked herself in her mind. _'Mother can't possibly handle it well…'_

"He's dead," Yukari blurted out. Her face was covered by her bangs as she looked to the ground. Again, she was trying to suppress the tears that were about to come to her. She tightened her hands into fists, and her nails began to dig into her flesh.

"D-d-dead? Tokiya's… gone? He's…" muttered the heartbroken mother names Satsuko. She fell to her knees and buried her face into her hands and cried as loud as anyone could imagine.

"Father's dead? How'd that happen? What happened to the old man?" Yashiro questioned loudly. His voice was croaky, for he was trying not to cry but was having a hard time. His purple eyes, much like his father's, were filled with rage.

"I… don't know. I woke up in a ruined meadow and he was there. He died in front of me," explained Yukari painfully. Her head was now up, revealing her face, but she turned her head away from her family and shut her eyes, trying to block out the tears that were trying to push their way out from under the hanyou girl's eyelids.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING? THIS IS YOUR ENTIRE FAULT! WHY DIDN'T YOU BRING HIM TO US?" the brother yelled in his fury.

"I COULDN'T! WHEN I WOKE UP, I WAS TOO LATE! I COULDN'T! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHERE YOU, NEE-SAMA, OR MOTHER WAS!" Yukari retorted. "It wasn't my fault, you stupid aniki!"

With that, the little eight-year-old hanyou girl ran from the cave, but was stopped by a giant centipede demon. The demon wrapped Yukari with its tail and led it toward its mouth.

"AHHH! Help me!" yelled Yukari as she tried to flail out of the grip of the centipede demon.

"Yukari!" cried out her mother.

"HIRAIKOTSU!" a feminine voice yelled out. As suddenly as the voice was heard, a giant boomerang came out of the surrounding forest and sliced through the centipede. The centipede was cut in half and the tail that held Yukari fell to the ground.

Yukari had her eyes shut the whole time. She was too scared to experience what had just happened to her. But as she noticed that the centipede no longer moved, she relaxed and finally opened her eyes.

"Are you okay?" said an unknown womanly figure that had the voice that had yelled a few minutes before. The woman had her hand out, offering to help the little girl up from where she was.

Yukari halfheartedly took it, but still looked at the woman with confused eyes. "Who are you?"

"Me? Well, I'm Sango. I'm a demon slayer," said the woman, Sango. Sango observed the body of the little girl and noticed something weird about her ears and eyes. "What are you? You don't seem to be human. Your ears are pointed and your eyes are a bright purple."

"Yukari, are you okay?" asked Yukari's mother, running up to her. She pulled her daughter away from the mystery woman. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"My name is Sango. Don't worry, I only came here to slay demons. I was told there was a family of half-demons…" Sango the demon slayer trailed off. She looked at the triplets, looking at their purple irises and pointed ears. "You are the family, aren't you?"

"What are you going to do about it?" Yashiro said.

"Are you going to slay us?" asked Shizuka, positioning herself in front of her family to protect them.

"You seem like no harm. Why do the villagers wish me to slay you?" the young demon slayer pondered.

"Because they say we have defiled the human race with our demon blood. They call us filth. And so will the demons in this world. We'll all be outcasts," explained Yukari, almost on the verge of tears, but again, she suppressed them to fulfill her promise.

"That is not a good reason to kill you," Sango said. The young women put her finger to her mouth to think. "Oh! I know. I would still like to have my expenses paid, and I don't want to loose my business with these people. How about I get a boar and kill it, spread its blood on the floor of that cave you've seemed to be staying in for a while, and pretend that I killed you."

"That sounds like a good idea, but where will we go? We can't stay here because they might find us," said the mother, Satsuko.

"I'll take you to my village. I'm positive they'll let you live there," replied the cheerful demon slayer. "Now, may I ask your names?"

"My name is Satsuko," said the mother of the triplets.

"Ch!" scoffed the hanyou boy.

"Yashiro!" yelled his older triplet sister as she stabbed him with her elbow in his stomach.

"Gah! Fine! My name's Yashiro," he said, clutching his stomach.

"My name is Shizuka," said the tall hanyou eight-year-old girl, bowing her head at the same time.

"And yours?" Sango said, looking at the last hanyou.

Yukari looked into the demon slayer's eyes and could see the gentleness and care in them. Feeling embarrassed, she looked away, but turned her head back again to look at the demon slayer.

"My name is… Yukari."

"I have successfully disposed of the half-demons and their mother. The proof is in this cave. Their blood is splattered all over. I took the liberty of burying their bodies at the end of the cave," explained the demon slayer. She gestured to the inside of the cave. The walls and floors were splattered with crimson liquid. The things inside the cave were ruined also.

"Thank you, kind taijiya! Now we don't have to worry about them ruining our lives," said one of the villagers.

"It was no problem. Now for my recompense?" said Sango. _'Wow. They actually believed that. At home, I'm pretty bad at acting. I mean, for a thirteen-year-old'_

**Author's note: This is three years before Sango joined the Inuyasha group, and it said that Sango was sixteen when she joined, eighteen when they defeated Naraku, and twenty-one at the very last chapter. Thanks to my editor who gave me this information.**

"Right, please kindly follow us back to our village so we can take you to the headman for your reward."

"Taijiya-sama, your village is very far from here," said Shizuka, the eldest of a set of hanyou triplets. They had been walking for hours, and they still were far from the demon slayer's village.

"Please, just call me Sango. And yes, it is very far from here. On my way here, I was traveling with my nekomanta demon. Her name is Kirara, and she can transform and fly wherever she wants. I sent her back to the village because she had been feeling unwell. If only she didn't, we might've arrived no later than tomorrow, but right now, we won't arrive until two days from now," clarified the demon slayer.

"WHAT?!? My legs are killing me!" grumbled the hanyou triplet boy Yashiro.

"Stop complaining, aniki. It's worth it!" said the youngest of the triplets Yukari.

"No, it's not!"

"Oh, yes it is! If it weren't for Sango-san, we wouldn't be here. We'd all be dead. So stop your rude and annoying complaining and keep walking!" shouted Yukari in anger.

"Um, why don't we take a rest? I think it would be best now, we're all a little irritated for walking so much," said Sango. "Would you like me to go get some water?"

"Yes please," said Satsuko as she sat down on the grass next to the pathway. Satsuko, the mother of the three hanyous, was carrying a larger load than the others. She carried a long wooden box.

"I'll go with you, Sango-san," Yukari proposed.

"Oh, you don't have to."

"No, it's okay. I want to."

"Okay, come on. We'll be back soon!" Sango said, waving her hand.

As they walked side by side silently, Yukari pondered in her little eight-year-old head. _'She seems very nice. And she's very beautiful and strong…'_

"So… How come you and your siblings actually look your age? I thought half-demons' bodies age slower than humans," Sango said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, that is true, but black-haired lion demons are unique, even the half-demon ones. The half-demons of our kind let the human blood take over more when we're younger than twenty-years-old. After twenty, then our bodies begin to remain the same over the years. And then gradually becomes older," explained the well-informed hanyou girl.

"So you are black-haired lion half-demons?"

"Yep."

"That's pretty rare," said the demon slayer, though it was mostly for herself.

"It is, but it's pretty cool. Our kind has pretty extraordinary powers," said Yukari. "It varies between each, but considering my siblings and I are triplets, we have similar powers."

"You seem very knowledgeable for your age," Sango said.

"Ku, that's only 'cause my father always taught me about this kinda stuff," Yukari scoffed.

"Hmmm…. You have any idea if there's any water nearby?"

Yukari sniffed the air. She pointed to their left and said, "There's a small stream a few yards that way."

"That's a good nose you have there."

"Psh. Thanks…" Yukari said as she looked away from the demon slayer to hide her blush. On the other hand, Sango had her eyes closed and giggled cheerfully at the embarrassed lion hanyou.

"Sango! You've returned! And you've brought some people with you," said a man, the headman of the village.

"Yes, father. This is actually the family I was paid to slay. They seemed like no harm, so I tricked the villagers into thinking that I did slay them," said Sango, giving the details of what led her to bringing the family of a set of hanyou triplets and their mother.

"You tricked them? So you got the expenses without actually doing what they wanted?" Sango's father, the lord of the demon slayer village, questioned.

"Well… Yes, but I only did so they could still trust us to help them against evil demons."

"Okay then. Now let's get this family into a spare house."

The village leader and his daughter, the one who led them to her own village to stay, directed the family to a house near the right wall of the village.


	3. Chapter 2: A Village of Demon Slayers

**Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. Waahhhh!!!! :'( Anyway, I do own the characters in this fanfiction that have not been in the manga or anime because I made them up.**

**Author's Note: Haihai!!! OMFG! Finally! IT'S HERE! I must apologize, but due to my new editor's (DemonSlayer94 from deviantart) technical difficulties with her email, it had to be held off. But fortunately, its back up again, so you should expect chapter 3 coming up waaaaaay sooner than wat you had to wait for this chapter. I would like to thank sangoscourage for being an awesome actual reviewer. Actual becuz i didnt need to tell this certain person to read this fanfic. :D IM SO FRIGGIN HAPPY NOW!! XD OKAY! Enough of my babbling, here goes chapter 2!!!  
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The Life of One

Chapter 2: Village of Demon Slayers

"Sango! You've returned! And you've brought some people with you," said a man, the headman of the village.

"Yes, father. This is actually the family I was paid to slay. They seemed like no harm, so I tricked the villagers into thinking that I did slay them," said Sango, giving the details of what led her to bringing the family of a set of hanyou triplets and their mother.

"You tricked them? So you got the expenses without actually doing what they wanted?" Sango's father, the lord of the demon slayer village, questioned.

"Well… Yes, but I only did so they could still trust us to help them against evil demons."

"Okay then. Now let's get this family into a spare house."

The village leader and his daughter, the one who led them to her own village to stay, directed the family to a house near the right wall of the village.

As they walked, a certain small hanyou was deep in thought. _'The people of this village… They slay demons, but are still kind to other kinds, like half-demons, and the nekomata demon Sango-san mentioned. They aren't afraid or feel any hatred. I can see it in their eyes…' _The little hanyou, Yukari, didn't notice that everyone had stopped, and bummed into the back of the young woman demon slayer.

"Oof. Sorry, Sango-san," Yukari apologized.

"It's okay, Yukari. Here is the hut you'll be staying in for now." Sango gestured to the hut in front of them.

"Thank you, Sango-san," Shizuka, the taller half-demon, said and bowed.

"Ane-ue! Welcome back!" a boyish voice yelled behind them.

Wondering who it was, the small half-demon turned around to see a boy, about their age, running towards the group. He had a grayish blue kimono with two dark blue diagonal stripes at the top left and the bottom right. The end was at his mid thigh.

"Hi Kohaku!" Sango yelled back waving her hand.

The boy, named Kohaku, started to slow when he noticed the three hanyou triplets and their mother. As he came up to the group, he looked at Yukari as she had looked at him, and his cheeks began to have a tint of red. He turned away when he felt his cheeks heating up, and gave Sango a small hug.

'…_Why is he blushing?'_ asked Sango in her mind. When Kohaku let go of Sango, she took a glance at the small hanyou a few feet away from them and saw she also had a hint of confusion on her face. Realizing how Kohaku behaved around girls in the village whom he thought were a bit attractive, as he had told her before, she gave a small smile. _'Ooh. Kohaku must have some interest in this little hanyou. Maybe something will happen if I give 'em a push. Well, then again, Kohaku is terribly shy. I'll try when they're older.'_ And then she gave a silent giggle.

'_What's with him? I look at him and he looks at me and then he just turns away? Weird…but he was a litte cu–' _Yukari stopped her current thoughts. Her cheeks began to have a slight color of pink. _'WHAT AM I THINKING? I must be going crazy…'_

Shizuka stared at her sister's conflicting emotions on her face. She went from confusion to embarrassment. The tall hanyou girl thought for a moment and still had no clue. She looked up at the women demon slayer a few feet away. The taijiya had a small smile on her face as she looked back from her younger brother, whose face was covered with red, to Yukari, whose face was still a bit pink and was turned to the ground. _'Sango-san must know. She's smiling at them,'_ she thought.

"Kohaku, these people are the new family that will start living here for a while. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Sango said.

"Um… Right, ane-ue. My name is K-Kohaku. It is v-very n-n-nice to meet you," the boy said, stuttering at his words while bowing respectfully. He wouldn't dare to look at the family in front of them. Reasons, you ask? Well, one, his face was completely red already. He wouldn't want to die of embarrassment. Second, the little half demon girl was far too much attractive for Kohaku to look at her, for his face would become an even deeper red than it already was.

"Hi. I'm Shizuka," said the eldest triplet.

"Hmph. Yashiro's my name," said the only boy hanyou.

"I'm their mother, Satsuko," the mother introduced herself. "Yukari, don't be rude. Introduce yourself!"

"Eh? Oh… Uh… I'm Yukari," the little hanyou said. She didn't look at Kohaku, she just gazed at the dirt in front of her, trying to conceal the faint blush that still remained on her face.

"How about you guys settle in? I'm sure you must be exhausted," suggested Sango.

"Yes, I believe my children's feet are sore from walking so much, and my back is aching a bit from carrying this," explained Satsuko while she gestured to the wooden load she carried.

"Okay, fine with us."

"But before you settle yourselves…" said the village leader. The family had almost forgotten he was there. "I would like to inform you that we will be having a feast tonight. It is a weekly thing here in our village, and we would like you to join us."

"That would be wonderful!" exclaimed Shizuka.

"Then that's that. We will see you later on in the evening. I'll have Sango lead you to the festivities." With that, the village leader, the kind-hearted Sango, and the relatively shy Kohaku walked toward their own home.

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After a few hours, the family of a normal human and three hanyou triplets became more comfortable to their surroundings. They had unpacked the things they brought with them, except the wooden box the mother refused to let her children open, let alone touch. Her children suspected something was strange about their mother's behavior and the protectiveness she showed against them when they tried to go near the wooden box.

"This isn't something for children to be holding," she claimed.

As the day passed them, nightfall came, and it was time for the taijiya village's festivities. Sango had come to lead them, dressed in a pink kimono with a green apron, to where it was happening as her father had said. They approached the area; they're faces being overcome with amazement. In the middle of what it seemed to be the village center was a huge bonfire. It was so big, even yards away you could feel its warmth.

The village men were dancing around the bonfire, singing and dancing. The villagers watching them clapped and laughed at the entertainment in front of them. A smile quickly grew on Sango's face as she guided Yukari and her family to where hers was. Her father and brother were sitting on the steps of a large house, their house. They both had joy written all over their faces.

Looking back towards the family behind her, she gestured for them to sit on the steps. Shizuka, Yashiro, and their mother filled to first step, forcing Yukari to sit next to Kohaku on the next step. She kept her distance, remembering the awkwardness they had experienced earlier that day.

Kohaku stopped laughing and clapping and looked down at his feet. The two little kids stared at different spots, remaining quiet. The woman demon slayer, who was not too far from where they sat, only behind them, smiled.

"Um… Hi…" Yukari finally greeted, breaking the discomfited silence.

Surprised at the sound of her voice, he responded, "Huh? Oh. H-h-hello."

Not knowing how she could continue the conversation, she began twirling her hair and thought. Only after a moment, she asked, "How old are you?"

"M-m-m-m-me? I'm eight."

"Really? So am I."

"Uh… Cool," Kohaku said stupidly, not really knowing what to say next. _'She's the same age as me, yet she's small for her age…'_

"Are you a demon slayer too?" inquired Yukari.

"No, but I'm tr-tr-training to be one," Kohaku answered, yet still stuttering at his words.

"Oh…"

A few minutes of silence followed. The two eight-year-olds didn't know what to say next. Both tried to avoid looking at one another, however, the young taijiya-in-training couldn't resist any longer. She started to gaze in wonder at the so called beauty he saw in her. Her short, black hair draping on her little shoulders. Her light purple eyes with the reflection of the bonfire in them. And her ears… were pointed? Light purple eyes? _'Okay, that is not human…'_

"Uh… Your ears… How come they're… uh… you know… And your eyes… They're… different."

"My ears? My eyes? Oh! I'm… I'm a hanyou, and so are my siblings. We're all black-haired lion half-demons…" Yukari informed him while turning her head to face the boy. _'Great… I bet he's going to run away from me.'_

"Half-demons? That's cool," Kohaku plainly answered, though his face was covered with a red blush. He turned his head back to the festivities in front of them.

Yukari just stared at him wide-eyed. Her face flushed, and she quickly turned her head the opposite direction. _'He thinks hanyous are… cool?'_

The two children didn't say another thing to each other for a while after that. They didn't even notice Sango watching them and eavesdropping on their conversation, even with Yukari's keen senses.

'_Aww… They just had a moment. I definitely need to get them together when they're older. I'm pretty sure this family of half-demons won't leave for a while,'_ Sango giggled as she thought. Then an idea popped into her head. _'I kind of want them to stay too. Oh! Maybe if I ask their mother if we can train them as demon slayers, she'll let them stay in our village! I'll ask her tomorrow.'_

As the feast continued and the hours dragged on, the people of the village began returning to their homes. Yukari had drifted off to sleep, so her mother had to carry her back to the hut they were to stay in. Sango, Kohaku, and their father escorted the family back.

"Thank you for inviting us to the feast and for escorting us back," Satsuko, the mother of the half-demons, said bowing while Yukari softly snored as she carried her bridal style in her arms.

"It was no problem at all, was it Kohaku?" Sango said playfully, nudging Kohaku lights in the arm.

"Eh? No! No, it wasn't…" he answered. Again his face began to turn red. He remembered what happened when Yukari fell asleep.

It was almost the end of the feast. The men began to tell stories of the missions they completed as demon slayers. Kohaku and everyone else were captivate by the stories, not noticing Yukari's eyes opening and closing from weariness next to him. She finally let herself drift off into sleep, and unintentionally let her head fall onto Kohaku's shoulder. Kohaku gasped at the sudden movement and at her touch. She was so warm. Then Yukari's mother walked up to Kohaku and carried her from him. Sango had started giggling behind Kohaku as his face exploded with the color of red.

"Well, I must put Yukari to bed, and also the other little ones here. Good night!" the mother said, startling Kohaku out of his flashback.

Kohaku looked at the sleeping girl in Satsuko's arms as they walked away into their hut to lay their heads to rest for the night.

* * *

_Yukari's hands landed on something wet. She looked at her palm and saw a shining crimson liquid. _'Blood,'_ she thought. The young girl, named Yukari, looked at the figures blood splattered face._

"_Father!" Yukari realized in horror. The young girl took her father's hand as tears filled her eyes._

"_Yu… kari. Don't cry. I'll always be… with you. Now, go find… your siblings and mother," said the half-demon's father. The grip on his hand tightened._

"_No father! I will not!," the girl sniffled out. The tears in her eyes were producing more and more rapidly. " I won't… I WON'T LEAVE YOU!"_

_The man lifted up his hand and removed Yukari's grip. He took hold of her cheek and wiped away the wet liquid running down her face._

"_Yukari…" he said with his last breath. His hand fell from her cheek and landed on the ground. His purple irises were covered with his eyelids. His body became limp._

"FATHER!!!" Yukari abruptly yelled out, waking up from her nightmare. She was breathing heavily, and sweat covered her face. Yukari was dazed for a few minutes, and then remembered the dream she just saw. The little hanyou broke out into tears.

* * *

"FATHER!!!" they heard from their hut. Satsuko and two of her hanyou children were talking with Sango, discussing the training for demon slaying. Sango asked if Yukari, Yashiro, and Shizuka could train as demon slayers, and also if they could continue to live in the village. Just as the mother was about to answer, she heard her youngest hanyou triplet child call out to her father and start crying. Kohaku was also with them, listening to their conversation in curiosity to their answer.

"That was Yukari!" the young hanyou boy Yashiro said. As he said that, Shizuka and himself ran as fast they could and disappeared into the hut. Their speed was so fast it rushed fiercely passed their mother, Sango, and Kohaku.

They soon followed, though not nearly as fast as Shizuka and Yashiro. When they entered, they saw a pertrified Yukari, cradled in the arms of her siblings. Her face was horrified, her eyes widened with tears streaming furiously down her cheeks.

"Father, father, father," she kept muttering.

"Yukari…" her mother began, kneeling next to where she was with her siblings. "Calm down, sweetie. It's okay. I'm here."

"Yukari, stop crying you baby!" Yashiro said coldly, but with sympathy.

"Yashiro! Don't say that. She just had a nightmare of… father," Shizuka snapped.

"Yukari-san…" Kohaku was about to sympathize, but he didn't know what to say.

"Kohaku, let's leave them alone for now. Satsuko-san, we'll carry out our conversation later. I'll be seeing you then," Sango said realizing what to do. She pulled Kohaku by the arm out of the hut.

"A-Ane-ue!" Kohaku gasped by the sudden pull on his arm. "What was that about? Why is she crying? What's going on?"

"Huh?" was all that came out of her mouth. She didn't know what to say to her brother, how to counteract to the questions she tossed at her. "Uh… Well… They lost their father not too long ago…"

Kohaku's eyes widened, and he looked back the hut they had just exited. "Their father?"

"Y-yes. The village they lived in tried to kill that family, along with their father. I don't really know much, but it seemed that their father was killed, probably trying to protect them…"

"What…? How could they do that?"

"Well, Kohaku… Some people are just like that. It's… kind of hard to explain. I think you're too young to be hearing this. Those children shouldn't be having to go through with what they are going through…" Sango tried to explain.

The two siblings both looked back to the hut, their faces saddened.

* * *

"Yukari… It's okay. We're here…" her mother soothed her.

"Yukari calm down. Father… father is in a better place now. Don't worry," Shizuka said, rubbing her sister's arm to stop her from trembling.

The little hanyou was calming down, but tears still threatened to fall from her eyes. The images of her dead father were still flashing in her head. It took a few more minutes for Yukari to stop hiccupping from her crying.

"Mother…" she finally said.

"Yes?" the mother said, cradling Yukari in her arms as she had the night before.

"I… Uh… Nevermind. I don't want to talk about it," the little half-demon girl said softly.

"Oi… Yukari, we can play outside if that makes you feel better," her brother said, looking away with a slight blush on his eight-year-old cheeks.

"Okay, aniki… But can I… can I eat first? I'm starving," Yukari stated, still sniffing from her crying.

"Okay, little sister," he answered playfully while rubbing her head.

* * *

After breakfast, the three hanyou triplets ran outside to play. They leapt onto each, and Yashiro and Yukari started spar with each. With her small size and speed, Yukari quickly defeated her brother.

"ARGH!!! How did you do that?" he asked loudly.

"YEARS OF TRAINING WITH FA−…" she was mimicking her brothers yelling, but then stopped and looked at the ground. "Father… While you and Nee-sama were playing around hunting animals for fun… I was off training with f-father. Don't you remember? That was only about four weeks ago."

"Oh yeah…." Yashiro remembered. "Well, so much has happened lately. I guess I just forgot." He was rubbing the back of his head, messing with his shaggy black hair.

(A/N: I just wanted to put in a little sister/brother moment in here.)

"Yukari! Yashiro! Hey there!" a familiar feminine voice greeted them.

"Oh! Sango-san, hi!" Yukari answered.

"Where's your mother? I need to ask her something."

"She's back at the hut with Nee-sama."

"Oh, okay thanks! By the way, your fighting skills are great, Yukari," Sango complimented. "You too, Yashiro."

"Hmph!" Yashiro pouted, and his cheeks blushed with red.

"Ah! Thank you, Sango-san," Yukari said, also having a little blush.

Sango giggled at the two little hanyou siblings and then walked over to their hut with Yukari and Yashiro. The young demon slayer entered and saw the hanyous' mother and their sister managing their belongings.

"Hello, Satsuko-san. I would like to speak to you about you and your family," she began.

"Please, go ahead then."

"Well… Where should I start?" the woman demon slayer commented. "Hmm…. I've seen the way your children see the village. I believe they love it here. Our people have already accepted them. They feel no need for hatred towards you or your children."

"She is right, mother," Shizuka said, interrupting Sango for just a bit.

"Also… I feel like these three will be very good companions, especially for Kohaku," she stopped for a second and giggled. Yukari realized what she meant and turned her head to the wall to hide her blushing face, though she failed.

"So this is why I would like to ask you if you could stay in our village to live instead of moving from place to place. And I would like to train your children to become powerful taijiya. I'm most certain they have the potential."

The three hanyou triplets turned to the young female taijiya with widened eyes. Their mother's eyes were filled with joy with the thought of finally living in peace with her children in a village.

"Y-you… you want us to stay? In your village?" Shizuka asked, just to make sure.

"Yes, we do want you to stay."

"We?"

"Yes. I discussed it with my father and most of the villagers available. They all said that they didn't mind to have you staying and would love to have more additions to our team of demon slayers," Sango clarified.

"Sango-san… Are you certain you want my family to stay in your village?" Satsuko questioned.

"I'm very certain, Satsuko-san. From my perspective, I think my village will grow livelier with your children."

"Then we will stay," Satsuko affirmed. "I, too, believe my children have already grown to like this village. As for the demon slayer training, that is up to them."

"How about it, Shizuka, Yashiro, Yukari?" Sango asked.

"… What's in it for us?" Yashiro inquired.

"Yashiro! This isn't some deal!" Shizuka scolded. "I will gladly train in your tradition of demon slaying."

"Thank you, 's in it for you, Yashiro?" Sango chuckled at this. "Well, I don't know really. But it could benefit you. You'll become strong hanyou, and you can prove to people that half-demons are not to be mistreated. Come on, you know you want. I saw you and Yukari sparring. You enjoy having a little action I in your life."

"Hmph! … I'll do it," he responded.

"Yukari?"

She had been silent the whole time. The young hanyou was too overwhelmed. Being invited to stay in their village, she had never experienced it. In their old life, she was always the one tormented the most. Her eyes were the brightest, giving fear to the humans who saw her. Yukari was… she didn't know what to say. She was speechless.

'_I'll do it. I'll do it for father,'_ she declared to herself.

"I will train as a demon slayer also!"

* * *

END FOR NOW

Soooo... What happens next? Well, all I'll tell you right now is that in the next chapter, its about three years later. But really, imma put flashbacks and other stuff. This chapter was definitely the longest. 1,000 more words than the one before. :D Please be patient with my updates. I have so much going on at my middle school (yeah, im in middle school, so that would explain my lack of writing experience) that i dont have so much time. PLEASE R&R!!!!! REVIEWWWWWW MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!!


	4. Chapter 3: The Three Destined Swords

**Disclaimer- I deny that I own Inuyasha or its characters. I may have to use some of the stuff from it but seriously… I don't own Inuyasha. Anything that seems that it may be stolen from Rumiko Takahashi (or anyone else) is strictly a mere coinky-dink!**

The Life of One

Chapter 3: The Three Destined Weapons

Yukari gasped for air. This little hanyou had been training nonstop for four hours. The speed in her kicks was increasing, but they weren't good enough. A sigh escaped her lips as her legs gave out and she plopped to the ground. Even after three years, Yukari just couldn't be happy with her abilities. Yes, it had been three years.

Three years since she had arrived at the hidden village of demon slayers. Three years since, not to long after their arrival, that she and her two other siblings accepted the offer of becoming skilled youkai taijiya. Three years since Yukari had befriended the strong, but oh so feminine Sango.

It was Sango who had saved Yukari, her siblings, and mother Satsuko from the villagers who vowed to kill them for tainting their human blood with demon blood. But of course, they had been moving from village to village, trying to escape, so this was not the first village. Nonetheless, Sango had also been the taijiya to bring them to her village.

Three years ago, she met a certain boy named Kohaku. Kohaku and Yukari had become close during the three years she lived in the taijiya village. Not only that, but they trained together almost everyday, except for the occasional times when Yukari just wanted to be alone to train. They would always duel each other, but it always led to Yukari pinning Kohaku to the ground pointless times. Kohaku, being a bit of a timid boy, would always blush being under the body of the half-demon girl.

Three years since the triplets' father–

She stopped reminiscing. Remembering her father was just too painful for her. An unknown killer had slain her father. Yukari used to think that the killers were the village men who wanted to kill her and her family. But as time passed and her knowledge grew, Yukari realized that mere humans could not injure her great black-haired lion demon father. No, they were just too weak. They were not trained as the people of the village she lived in currently. Being eleven now made her realize so many things.

"Oi! Imouto, get off your stinky butt and wash off. Mother'll kick your ass if ya don't," yelled a boyish, voice.

Nearly jumping at the voice, Yukari was greeted by her triplet brother Yashiro. "Ah! … Oh. Hey Aniki."

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. Get your lazy butt back over to the hut."

"Someone's cranky today…"

"Shut up!"

"Hey, I'm only saying. We're living in a wonderful village! Can't you just lighten up?" Yukari explained.

"I− … UGH! Never mind, forget I said anything ya ungrateful little thing I call 'imouto.'" Yashiro uttered with an annoyed, yet loving, tone.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go, I'm hungry."

"Get washed up first, you're a complete mess."

"Hey! Yukari! Shiro-chan!" yelled out a familiar voice.

"Oi! Sango-nee-san!" Yukari yelled back. Though Sango wasn't technically blood-related family, she was _still_ family.

Sango came jogging over to them in her usual pink kimono and green mo-bakama. The now 16-year-old taijiya always had a sway to her jogging or running, making her look more graceful.

"Hmph. Why do you still call me that weird nickname, Sango," a blatantly annoyed hanyou said.

"Oh, Shiro-chan… You are so cute when you pout!" Sango teased in a sing-song voice while rubbing Yashiro's hair.

"Ah! Hey! Stop that!"

"Nuh-uh-uh! This is too fun," she explained in a voice that made her seem like she was a little child again.

"Okay, Sango-nee-san. That's enough. What did you want?" Yukari interrupted their little "battle."

"I was just wondering if you wanted to practice with me tomorrow. I hear you're going on your first mission with your mother soon."

"Sure that'd be great," Yukari replied nonchalantly. Not considering only her somewhat "lack" of training, she did want to spend more time with her "big sister." Lately, new missions to slay demons had been poured onto them. It was a big mystery as to why there were so many demons running wild all throughout Japan. Yukari had an odd feeling that something big was happening; something that would involve all of them getting into some sort of trouble. She also had an odd feeling that she was right, even at eleven.

"Shouldn't you stop training for a while? You've been training for hours!" Yashiro argued. "You need to sit your little behind down and rest before you die of exhaustion."

"Hours? Yukari… IF you're still working on those kicks−"

"She is."

"Ugh… You are not practicing with me tomorrow then," Sango gruffly demanded. She doubted her command would work against her little lion cub, but then again, might as well try, the taijiya thought.

"But−"

"No buts. You are not−"

"SAN-GO-NEE-SAN!" Yukari cried out childishly, sounding our every syllable. With her small figure and rounded cheeks, Sango could not help but give in to the pout the hanyou was giving her.

'_Curse that little face of hers.' _With a sigh, she gave in reluctantly. "Fine, fine. Just… Ugh… We'll only train a _little_," she said giving emphasis on 'little'. "Do you understand that?"

Without any warning, Yukari pounced on Sango. The older taijiya guessed that was a 'yes.' Yukari's small figure was light enough for Sango not have to step back to keep balance. She chuckled at this, and was about to tease her when Shizuka called after them. In her usual lavender and light blue striped kimino she walked toward them saying, "Come on, Yashiro, Yukari! Mother has something to give us!"

"Give?"

"Us?"

"What?"

'_Is she finally intending to give them what ever is in that wooden box of hers? I remember she said it was something special and they'd have to earn it,"_ Sango reflected.

"I don't know, but she told be that you need to hurry or we wont have enough time for dinner," Shizuka explained.

"Um.., May I come along? I think my curiosity just got the best of me, and could I bring along Kohaku? This might interest him as well," said the older taijiya.

"Sure, Sango-chan. I don't think our mother would mind if you come along. I'm certain a lot of people will already be watching. There was a group of people outside our hut so…" Shizuka trailed off. _'I wonder what's going on.'_

* * *

Walking in silence, Kohaku, Sango, Yukari, Shizuka, and Yashiro entered the house. Aware of the excited dace and watchful eyes staring at them, the triplets eyed them with curiosity. It was clear that something was to going to happen. The taijiya village was known to be a bit loud when something thrilling happened. When they knew something like this might happen, everyone seemed to have the same expression of happiness happen. What confused the triplets, and Kohaku, was why they didn't know, when most of the village knew. They could tell they were all there, because the taijiya village was that united.

As the five entered the hut, they were greeted by the presence of Satsuko, the three hanyou's mother. "You needed us, ma?" Yashiro said with a bit of annoyance.

"Yashiro… Nevermind," the mother said, clearly disappointed by the tone of her son's voice. "We might not have enough time to fit all of you in today."

"What are you talking about, mother?" Shizuka inquired. The older hanyou glanced at the wooden box her mother had kept away from her and her siblings for a little more than three years.

"In this box, are the swords that your father," she gulped at the word, "and I agreed to entrust you with. You will be able to use them as you wish to. You are to fight with these new weapons." With that, she began to open the box. There were seals on the box and a decorative rope was tied around it. One by one, Satsuko began to peel the seals off and untie the rope.

"Swords? But we already have the weapons that the chief forged for us," Shizuka said, referring to her own cresent-shaped scythe, Yashiro's twin axes, and Yukari's easy-to-handle spear weapon.

"Yes, but the lord and I agreed that you would only train with those weapons until I gave you these. Didn't you notice that the lord, and Sango, mostly trained you with your wakizashi?"

"Oh yeah… You're right," Yukari said nonchalantly.

The five watched as the mother of the hanyou triplets finally opened the wooden box. In it laid three different swords. All were in their sheaths. The first one that Satsuko laid out in front of them was long and slender. It looked so light and delicately forged. The second was a sword that looked like any other kind of sword they'd seen, but this one was different. The hilt of the sword was covered with seals, making the triplets, Sango, and Kohaku wonder why it had been sealed up. The last of the swords was very odd. It had two blades, almost looking futuristic if it hadn't had old-fashioned, decorative ropes dangling from the bottom of the hilt. The blades of the sword differed in sized. One was the size of a normal blade of a sword, while the other was a little thinner and only about a centimeter in width. It branched out from the bigger blade, but then it pointed at the same direction. Everyone could only gape at how unusual the design was.

Not only had the swords stunned them, but the air ever so slightly became heavier with a demonic aura. That aura could only be traced back to the swords in front of the triplets. It was pulling them. Neither Yukari, Shizuka, nor Yashiro could resist the swords that were practically calling out for them, longing to be swung around.

But first, the swords had to put them to the test.

'_Yukari…'_

"…"

'_Shizuka…'_

"…"

'_Yashiro…'_

"… WHAT?"

Startled by Yashiro's sudden expression, Yukari and Shizuka jumped back to reality. They had felt a strong presence suddenly wrap around their bodies, and suddenly, they felt like freshly made mud sliding down the fingers of a child.

Thankful for Yashiro's exclamation, Shizuka spoke up. "M-m-m-m-mother… Uh…. Are these for," she gulped, "us?"

Sango let out her breath. She hadn't realized that she was holding her breath until her eldest daughter spoke. Why did their eyes suddenly flash an even brighter purple? What were those clouded faces? _'…are those swords that strong for me to be shaking?'_ The taijiya stared the hands lying at her sides. Yes, they were trembling. Sango didn't know if it was from fear or excitement. She didn't know. Sango was excited for the triplets for finally being able to get a special weapon of their very own, but yet she was scared. The demonic aura, even though she knew it wasn't evil, held that much power. The older taijiya was so caught up in the moment that hadn't realized Kohaku wasn't beside her anymore, but he was cowering in the corner of the house.

"Yes, Shizuka. These are very much your swords," the mother answered, "one for each of you. Once you were born, your father had them forged for you, based on the powers you inherited. As you have noticed, Shizuka inherited the power of wind. Yashiro, you inherited the power of fire. And you, Yukari, inherited the power of water." Satsuko gently picked up the long, slender sword and held it up to Shizuka. "This is your sword. Its name is Fuuryoku-Ken. Its design will help accumulate the power of the wind and make powerful attacks."

Shizuka now held Fuuryoku-Ken in her hands. Once again, it was calling out to her. She could just faintly feel it pulse, causing her to once again wonder at its powers. What was this strange pulse she felt? Was it… somehow alive? "Th-thank you, mother."

"For Yashiro−"

"The really cool one over there huh?" the boy interrupted.

"Actually, no. You get the even cooler one." Satsuko held up the sword with the seals.

"What? That's not cool. It looks like a regular looking sword to me!"

"Well, it's not," she the pointed to the seals. "See these? These suppress its power so its size is smaller. Do you want to see how its true form looks like? We only had its size reduced so it was easy to carry."

"YEAH! Of course I wanna see it!"

"You're going to have to wait 'till later," the mother said in a stern voice. But then she laughed as he began to pout. "I'll tell you its name, and then I'll take off the seals."

Yashiro's face brightened at this, and then he said, "Okay, okay. How what's its name? Huh? Huh?" He started jumping up and down, making everyone giggle at his antics.

"Right. It's name is Kanan-Ken. It's element is your element, fire," Satsuko clarified. "Handle it carefully. You might lose control." Then she began to peel off the papers that were restraining Kanan-Ken's powers. After she had done that, the sword began to glow a brilliant yellow, and in a flash of light, the plain looking sword was gone. In its place was an enormous sword with a hole bigger than the size of a head near the tip. The edges of the hole were sharpened, looking like it was meant to cut off heads.

"…"

"Uh…."

Kohaku trembled at it.

"WHAT?"

"WHOA!!!!"

"Yes, it is quite large," the mother said, with only a hint of fear. "I'm afraid I can no longer hold it, so here Yashiro." She handed the large weapon over to her son with a grunt to lift it up higher.

"It is a little heavy… But not too heavy for me!" he said in triumph. He really only said that to hide the fact that was a little afraid of the sword. Not only was it big, but it was sending him a strange feeling, and it kept calling out his name.

"Hmph, so you get a big one with a whole! I get the own with _two_ blades," Yukari said with jealousy. She was so sure she could handle that large weapon. Why didn't she get that one? The design didn't even fit the element!

"Hah! One's smaller than the other!"

Everyone except the quarrelling two shrugged.

"SO? My element is water! WATER PUTS OUT FIRE!"

"WELL… er…."

"HAH! I wi−"

"GUYS!" Shizuka interrupted their dispute and rubbed her temples. "You guys are too loud for your own good. I have a headache now…"

"Quite right, Shizuka," their mother said. Sango and Kohaku, who had stopped trembling in the corner and had stood next to his sister, remained silent.

"Sorry, mother," Yukari apologized. "So this is my sword?" She pointed at the two-bladed weapon.

"Yes. It's name is Suiryuu-Ken. It's element, as well as yours, is water." Satsuko handed the sword over to Yukari. Once she had Suiryuu-Ken in her palms, she tensed. The little half-demon knew that her siblings were feeling the same way, by their expressions, but what _was_ this strange feeling?

After the all the three of the triplets had received their new weapons, they were in a trance. Hearing their names, feeling the strange power lurk through their bodies. It was like suddenly, they were in another world.

After a good few minutes, Shizuka spoke up, being the first to be out of the trance. "Mother… I keep hearing someone calling out my name. Have I gone crazy?"

The mother, as well as Sango, giggled quietly, and spoke. "No, no. This is what your father said would happen. The ones calling your names are the spirits of the swords. Your father actually put part of himself in each one of those swords. They developed their own spirits, and now they will work together with you to protect yourselves and others. I don't quite know how it's supposed to work, but it does. I believe the swords were forged by a demon named Totosai.

"Also…. There is something else…" she didn't finish the sentence.

"What 'something else'?" Shizuka asked, looking a little reluctant to find out the answer.

Silence.

"Mother?" Yukari said.

"You have to fight the spirits."

* * *

A/N: Well, yeah! Sorry it's taken a while to get this out. And I apologize for the sorta cliffhanger right there. I've been really busy with school and all. I thank sangoscourage for helping me and giving me ideas. Your pretty much the best reviewer I have EVER had, and pretty much the only one…. : / Ah well. Hahaha. Please R&R! PLEASE! I might consider stopping writing this. Does that make sense? O__O so yeah. Hope the next chapter won't take as long! Oh, and tell me if I messed anything up!


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